Peterson remains hopeful for Sunday's finale

Adrian Peterson admits he was "uncomfortable" in Sunday's loss at Cincinnati. Groin and foot injuries have limited his ability to perform, but Peterson said he's hopeful that he will be able to play the season and Metrodome finale Sunday against Detroit.

“I’m feeling OK," he said. "I’ve felt better. My body has been able to rest a little bit. I’m trying to push to Sunday.”

Peterson planned to practice Thursday to see how his body feels. He said that will give him some idea of his availability for Sunday.

“With a couple of more days of rest in front of me, I’ll be able to distinguish if I’ll be able to go out there be productive," he said. "Stay tuned. Right now my mindset is to be out there and finish strong with my teammates.”

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier removed Peterson from the Cincinnati game early in the second half because the Bengals had a big lead and Peterson clearly was not himself. Peterson said the groin injury that's bothered him for weeks actually gave him more trouble than his right foot sprain.

"The foot was a pain that I already had set in my mind that I was going to have to deal with," he said. "Sometimes when I was pushing off, I felt it. I got tackled a couple of times and twisted up and the pain kind of stuck around for a minute. But that’s something I knew I was going to have to deal with. As far as explosion, that kind of hindered me a little bit. The groin as well. So I felt uncomfortable Sunday.”

The Vikings don't expect to have Toby Gerhart available on Sunday. He re-aggravated a hamstring injury chasing down a fumble return on the opening series against the Bengals.